


The Runaway

by Anagha



Category: Underfell - Fandom, Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Underfell, Mentions of Violence, Runaway, just two brothers doing their best, no smut here folks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-03
Updated: 2018-05-04
Packaged: 2019-05-01 17:53:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14526042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anagha/pseuds/Anagha
Summary: After a little spat and a misunderstanding, Papyrus ends up lost in the woods.





	1. Not Lost

         Papyrus sat scowling at the snow on his shoes. Tears still stained his cheek bones. "I'm not lost." He said, which was technically true. He had wanted to run away and if he didn't know where he was, then Sans wouldn't know either. Therefore, he wasn't 'lost'. "Sans..." He whimpered and curled in tighter to himself. Though the cold normally doesn't bother him, long exposure to it does still start to take effect. Would he worry about me? He wondered, though figured probably not. Papyrus didn't know what Sans did most of the time, but whenever he was home, he was always sleeping or lounging around, making a mess wherever he went. "Maybe without me around, he will just continue to lounge. Maybe he'll be happier." That thought caused his tears to return. He burrowed his head into his arms and began to shiver slightly. Strangely, he felt....tired. More tired than he ever had been in fact. His eye sockets struggled to close and after a while, he gave in and let them. His small form drooped over lazily as he slumbered, a fresh snow covering him like a cold blanket.  
        Sans shuffled through the snow, trying to look mad and dangerous. His hands were stuffed into his pockets to keep himself from fidgeting as he scanned the trees for any sign of Papyrus. He spotted several monsters lurking in the trees, watching him. Occasionally he would shoot them a glare and make them back off. Other times, he would discreetly scan them, checking to see if their was any fresh dust on them. How long had he been out here now? How long had it been since Papyrus ran off? He cursed himself for not following after him immediately. The others watching their spat be damned. He couldn't even call out for him, lest he give away that he was searching for his little brother. His easy EXP brother who wasn't even close to being able to defend himself yet. Sans himself was just barely past the age of his stripes. He toyed with the idea of giving up, but the thought of it sent a near-shattering pain through his soul. He couldn't give up on his brother. He was disgusted with himself for ever even thinking it.  
         Suddenly, he spotted a flash of red and yellow from the corner of his eye. When he turned to look, it was just red. A red scarf to be exact. Coiled around his brother's neck at least five times since it was so big on him. Keeping his pace steady, he made his was over to him and checked him. He let out a tiny sigh of relief when he noticed he was just asleep. He bent down to lift him up and carry him home, but knew he couldn't. It would just make both of them a bigger target.  
         "get up, lazy." He said instead and nudged Papyrus with his foot. Papyrus stirred and looked up at him. "come on, you're in trouble for shirking your work. we're going home." Sans tried to sound angry. If he could fool Papyrus, then he'd fool the shadows lurking.  
         Papyrus looked up at him, a look so heart-breaking that Sans was sure his would shatter if he had one. Why? Why did they have to live in a world so cruel? Why couldn't he just hug his brother openly and tell him how much he loved him? Still, Papyrus nodded and stood up. Strange, their wasn't any snow on him. He must have just fallen asleep before Sans had found him. Side by side, they made their way back to their house with no problems. Once inside, Sans told Papyrus to head up to his room and he would be there in a minute. Papyrus drooped even more and trudged his way to his room upstairs.  
         Once his door closed, Sans turned to the kitchen and made his brother some oatmeal. Though anyone watching would assume it was just for him and he would be eating it in front of his brother. Good. Let them think that. Sans' grin widened at the idea of some of the adults reveling is his "sick treatments" of his brother. Hell, he was even praised once or twice even. It was how he found out they watch them through their windows, but their bedrooms' windows were boarded up. No one could see in or out of them. If anyone asked, it was a safety precaution to keep others from climbing in when he slept.  
         Sans took the oatmeal up to Papyrus' room and closed the door behind him. He looked at Papyrus who sat on his bed and noted how scared he looked. Guess my acting was a bit too good, Sans thought. "here, eat up." He said as he gently handed the bowl to Papyrus. He took one look at it and began to cry, setting the bowl down on the table so it wouldn't spill. Sans panicked. "wha-what's wrong?"  
        "I d-don't understand!" Papyrus wailed. "Wh-why are you like this only when we're alone?"  
        Sans felt a cold wash over him as if all of the heat in his bones was suddenly sucked out of him. He  sat down and took Papyrus into his arms. "bro... i'm so sorry. i have to be like that to protect you." He told him. "i do it because i love you. you're the most precious thing in the world to me."  
        "I don't understand." Papyrus said, his sobs quieting down to soft hiccups.  
        "i know you don't, bro." Sans sighed and began to stroke Papyrus' head slightly. "listen, the Underground is a dangerous place. no one cares if your young or old. they will attack you. they will try to kill you. i can't stand what i say and do to you outside of our home, but if i treat you out there like i do here, they will use you against me. do you understand? they will kill you to get to me. and the reverse is true too. we have to be strong. we have to act like we hate each other so we don't seem as a weakness to the other."  
         "So," Papyrus sniffled, "so you don't mean what you say to me?"  
         "outside, no. In here, yes. think of it like we're playing pretend, like with your battle figures."  
         Papyrus was quiet as he put the pieces together. He sat up straight and looked at Sans. "I'm sorry." He said softly. "I didn't understand before and I caused you a lot of trouble."  
         "i'm sorry too, bro. i should have told you about all of this sooner. i thought i was protecting you from the harshness of this world, but i was wrong. i was only making you think that i hated you." Tears flooded Sans' eyes. "i'm so sorry, papyrus. i've never hated you and I never will. please believe that. one day, maybe i can tell you that outside without the fear of having monsters attack us, but until then please know that I do love you and please don't run away again."  
          "I won't." Papyrus smiled up at Sans then, bright and true. Sans wanted for all the world to see that smile. He believed that smile alone could break the barrier.  
          "good." Sans got up, rubbing Papyrus on the head. "go ahead and eat up now. you need to warm yourself up and replenish some of your magic. falling asleep in the snow isn't good for anyone."  
          Sans waited until Papyrus finished the oatmeal before he tucked him in and said goodnight before leaving the room. He took the now empty bowl into the kitchen before he made his way to his basement. Another flash of yellow caught his eye before he had even unlocked the door. Fool me once... He pocketed his keys again and went after the yellow. The small flower turned and looked up at him, a flash of horror crossed its face before it summoned up a small arch of magic bullets. "you were in the woods earlier, weren't you?" Sans asked.   
           Slowly, the flower nodded. Sans looked around and then back to the flower. "come into my basement a minute. i wanna chat." He unlocked the door and held it slightly open.  
           The flower, surprisingly, was able to pop up into his basement and looked around. Sans closed the door and locked it behind him. His basement was completely sound proof. No sound could go in, and none could go out. He also had screens that were rigged up to cameras outside and inside his home that he used to make sure no one ever broke in while he was away. The flower marveled at the screens, one of which watched Papyrus' door from the outside.  
           "I didn't know you had cameras set up..." The flower said softly.   
           Sans just shrugged. "you gotta do what you gotta do to protect your home. what about you then? you kept the snow off of my bro earlier. why?"  
          The flower flinched slightly. "What makes you think it was me?"  
           Sans' grin widened. "you're pretty bad at this too, huh?"  
           "Bad at...what?"  
           "acting all mean. iook, i get it. this place is soundproofed, by the way. so, what's your name?"  
           "Oh! Um, Flowey."  
           Sans laughed. "alright then. the name's sans. really, though, thanks for watchin' out for my bro."  
          "I was worried about him." Flowey drooped a little. "I heard what you had said to him before he left and I was just trying to protect him when he fell asleep. I'll admit, I was worried when you found him, but something wasn't quite adding up, so I followed you and listened in. I couldn't hear everything you two said, but I got the gist of it."  
           "you could hear us? from down there?" Panic began to well up in his chest. If a flower could hear them then....  
           "Oh, no! I stretched up and had my face practically pressed against the window to hear!" I couldn't hear anything before I did that."  
           A relieved sigh left Sans and he sat down in his chair. "that's good. i've been working on soundproofing the whole house. also trying to figure out the best way to cover up the front window without raising suspicion."  
           "Everyone will be suspicious no matter what you do, Sans." Flowey told him.  
           "i know, but i want papyrus and myself to have some sort of freedom in our own home that isn't out bedrooms, you know?"  
           Flowey nodded. "I understand." Flowey looked up at Sans and noticed the dark circles under his eye sockets and spoke before his mind could catch up with his mouth. "Don't worry too much about Papyrus when you're not around. I'll be here for him." Before Sans could respond, Flowey was gone, leaving nothing behind to even show he was there in the first place. 


	2. The Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new friend appears!

           True to his word, Flowey watched over Papyrus from afar when Sans wasn't available. Though he did somewhat trust the flower, he still held on to the paranoid behaviour of checking on his brother from time to time. Papyrus was growing strong, in his own way. Sans would sometimes watch him train in a place near waterfall. He watched in awe as Papyrus learned to conjure bone attacks that would jut out from strange angles, some of them had a sharp edge to them, as if sharpened. He would always come home exhausted, but never told Sans why. "Just tired today" "I had to run 20 laps at school" "Ran away from some adults". Sans had to admit that his lies were at least believable, though it left him in a tough spot. If he called him out on his lies, Papyrus would know that he was spying on him.   
           "Why is him knowing you're watching him such a bad thing?" Flowey asked one night. Sans confided in him on a pretty regular basis when Flowey would visit now. It was nice having someone to talk to like this. It felt like a large weight was being lifted off of his soul with every confession.  
           "i don't want him to think i'll always be there to help him if he gets in trouble." Sans sighed, "i want to be there, but it's not always going to be possible and the sooner he learns to fight and defend himself, the better it will be for him."  
           Flowey hummed in thought, while this was true, he didn't like it. "I miss how things used to be," he muttered.  
           Sans turned to him, having been busy at his desk drawing up plans for a hologram to play on his window on loop. "how things used to be?" He asked.  
           Flowey shrunk in on himself a little. He hadn't meant to say that out loud! "Sorry, I didn't mean to-"  
           "how old are you?" Sans asked, cutting him off.  
           Flowey chuckled, "old enough to remember the Queen." He said. He sighed. "I... wasn't always a flower, Sans. I was once just a regular monster kid. A really good friend of mine and I got into some...trouble and the next hing I know, I'm waking up in the King's garden like this with the world gone to Hell." Tears began to form in his eyes as he recalled waking up alone, dust and blood was all over the flowers and the figure of the King loomed over him, looking down at him with such a thirst for blood and death that it frightened Flowey to retreat into the Earth. "After I woke up, I noticed just how different things were. Everyone said the King and Queen got into an argument about the war and he killed her. No one trusted anyone, not even members of their own family. It's a terrifying world to live in."  
           "but what was it before?" Sans asked softly.  
           A small smile grew on Flowey's face. "It was a peaceful world filled with happy families. Children could go outside and play. The King made visitors tea while they talked in his garden. The only thing anyone ever feared was a human falling down here."  
           "why?" Sans asked with a chuckle. They already had six souls. The humans weren't a threat to anyone. They all died as quickly as they showed up.  
           Flowey looked up at him, his eyes having an almost haunted look. "Because they didn't want to kill them."

 

           Sans thought about his conversation with Flowey for the rest of the night. He just stared up at the ceiling and just played the conversation over and over. A knock on his wall jolted him from his thoughts.  
           "Sans? Are you awake?" Papyrus' voice asked softly.  
           "yeah, i'm awake. what's up?"  
           "I need to talk to you about something. Can you come to my room?"  
           Sans' brow furrowed. If Papyrus was asking to talk to him face to face, it must be important. "be there in a sec." Sans groaned as he lifted his body off of the mattress on the floor and made his way to Papyrus' room. He closed the door behind him and watched as Papyrus fidgeted before him. He was just standing in the middle of the room, staring down at his feet. "everything alright?" Sans asked.  
           "I... I don't know. Sans, I'm scared. I think someone has been following me."  
           "what? why?"  
           "When I'm....alone, I sometimes catch a glimpse of yellow. Just a quick blur when they run away. I think they're planning to attack me." Large tears dripped from his eye sockets. "I don't know what to do, Sans."  
           "hey, it's alright." Sans took Papyrus into his arms and felt all of his fear when Papyrus wrapped his own arms around him and squeezed tightly.  
           "I'm not as strong as you," he sobbed. "I don't think I could defend myself." Geeze, he was full sobbing. Every breath felt like a wrack through Papyrus' body like a violent jolt. His hands fisted Sans' shirt. "I don't want to hurt anybody."  
           Sans sighed and placed his teeth to Papyrus' skull. "i know you don't bro." He sighed. Time to confess. "hey, i've been keeping an eye socket out for you. i sneak out of work and come find you throughout the day. i've seen you training in the alcove in waterfall. you're a lot stronger than i was at your age."  
           Papyrus sniffled and looked up at Sans. "R-really?"  
           Sans smiled at him and nodded. "really, bro. i wouldn't lie about that."  
           No, I mean... you've really been sneaking out of work to check on me?"  
           Sans flushed a little and laughed. "yeah, bro. just because i can't always be there  _with_ you, doesn't mean i can't be there  _for_ you."  
           "W-wowie..." Papyrus smiled and nuzzled Sans' chest. "Thank you, Sans. Why keep it a secret though?"  
           "because, as cruel as it is, i couldn't let you think you could depend on me all of the time. i can't be there all of them time and if someone came after you when i'm not there, then i can't do anything. i needed you to be strong on your own so you can defend yourself until i  _do_ get there." If at all, he added inwardly.  
           Papyrus thought it over, the whole picture starting to fill itself in. Sans  _wanted_ to be there for him, but couldn't because of how people would use that against them. This really was a "kill or be killed" kind of world. The thought made his soul ache. He didn't want to kill, but he didn't want to  _be_ killed either. "What about the person following me?" He asked.  
           "don't worry about it unless they make a move to you. never initiate a fight with someone in hiding. it could be a trap or it could make you a bigger target for monsters looking for tougher enemies."  
           He didn't like the sound of it, but it made sense. "Thank you." He gave Sans another hug and let his arms fall away and went back to bed. Sans tucked him back in and made his own way back to his room, eyeing the closed blinds on his way there. Sans made a mental note to talk to Papyrus about connecting their rooms together from the inside.

 

 

           The next time he saw the blur, Papyrus just watched carefully. He pretended not to notice, but kept his sights on that spot. Then, it finally happened. Flowey popped up and Papyrus spotted him. They now stared at each other, Flowey from panic of being caught and Papyrus in waiting to see if he would do anything.  
           "CAN I HELP YOU?" Papyrus asked. He took to talking much more loudly outside to make him seem like a bigger threat. O at least he hoped it did. His voice echoed off of the walls and he saw the flower shiver slightly before burrowing down and popping back up a little closer. Immediately, Papyrus' magic flared up and he summoned a sharpened bone to his hand. Flowey raised his leaves like surrendering arms, but said nothing. Papyrus looked around carefully. No one else was around. Still, he kept the bone pointed to Flowey and knelt down to his level. "What do you want?" He whispered.  
           "Meet me behind your house later. I'll tell you then." Flowey whispered back and then was gone. How did he know where Papyrus lived? The thought made him tremble slightly. If he knew where he lived, what if he broke in? What about Sans?! He let his weapon vanish into a cloud of spent magic and made his way home, trying not to seem like he was in a rush. Just like Sans had done so many times.  
           Once he was finally home, he rushed up to his own room and began to bang on the wall. His cell phone rang. It was Sans.  
           "i'm in the basement, what's wrong?"  
           Papyrus sighed in relief. "Sorry, I wanted to make sure you were alright. Can I come talk to you?"  
           "yeah, come on around. you remember the code-knock for this week, right?"  
           Papyrus nodded and then answered him with the affirmative. "I'll be there in a few seconds" Carefully, he made his way to the basement door and knocked three times, waited exactly four seconds then knocked another five times. Sans opened the door for him and locked it behind him. This was the first time in a long while Papyrus had even seen the basement. The monitors were a new touch, but they made him smile. He noted the drawn out blueprints for a hallway connecting their rooms together from the inside. Huh. That would make talking to each other in person a lot easier.  
           "so...." Sans said, rocking  little on his heels. "welcome to my lab?" He chuckled.  
           "Well, it certainly explains why you spend so much time down here, nyehehe!" Papyrus teased. "Is it safe?"  
           "of course it is, bro." Safer than even their own house for the time being.  
           "The monster following me approached me today."  
           Sans' eye sockets widened and Papyrus could feel him looking him over for any nicks or cuts. "so i guess things worked out?"  
           "Not exactly." Papyrus crossed his arms. "The monster told me to meet them behind our house later tonight. It's actually why I came home a bit early today. I figured if it knew where I was and where  _we_ lived, then it might attack you while I was gone." Papyrus' faced flushed a little at the admission. He knew Sans was still stronger than him, but he couldn't help but worry about him. Is this how Sans felt?  
           Sans hummed in thought. "well, what do you plan to do?"  
           "I think I will talk to them. See what exactly it is they want. Could I ask you to watch my back?"  
           Sans' grin grew. "of course. i'll be nearby if they try anything. or if they have some lurking buddies trying to jump you. i'll be there."  
           "Thank you, Sans. Can I wait here?"  
           "sure. i need to finish up a few plans, but you can hangout."  
           Papyrus took a seat in the corner and just watched the monitors. Sans was pretty thorough. He had one for every room except their rooms. Had quite a few for various angles around their house too. Papyrus never noticed the cameras inside and he wagered that Sans must have disguised them. Just as he was about to ask for more details, there was a knock on the door. Not just any knock.  _Their_ knock. Whoever this was knew their code-knock. Sans and Papyrus looked to each other before they both stood and summoned their own bone attacks. Sans carefully opened the door and Flowey popped inside.  
           Flowey hadn't know Papyrus would beat him to the lab and froze when he spotted him. Sans scattered his weapon and locked the door. Papyrus watched him, silently trying to fit the pieces together. He opened his mouth to ask what Sans was doing, but the flower beat him to speaking.  
           "Howdy! Um, my name is Flowey!" He was so cheerful, even bouncing around on his stem as if dancing. No, he was fidgeting, Papyrus realized. Flowey was eyeing his weapon wearily.  
           "it's alright, bro. you can trust him."  
           At that, Papyrus scattered his own weapon and stood tall. "He was the one following me." Papyrus said. "He was the one I just told you about. Is he... an ally?"  
           "I'd prefer "friend" actually." Flowey said and chuckled. "Sorry, Sans and I have known each other for a little while now. Golly! You've gotten so tall, Papyrus!" Had it only been three months since Papyrus ran away? He was up to Sans' shoulders now! Flowey wagered that Papyrus would soon outgrow Sans entirely.  
           Papyrus didn't know what to make of any of this. Wasn't Sans the one that said that friends just weren't made? Wasn't Sans the one who told him not to trust anyone? What was going on? He spun around and faced Sans to demand answers. He wanted to yell. He wanted to yell at Sans. He was so angry at him and so very, very confused. "Why?" Was all he could manage to say. He was proud of himself for not yelling at him.

           "why what?" Sans asked.  
           "Why is Flowey here? Why did you lie about not making friends?! Why didn't you tell me!" Papyrus' voice grew louder and more shrill as he asked.  
           "i didn't lie to you, pap. i didn't tell you because...well.."  
           "I told him not to." Flowey said, directing Papyrus' attention to him. "In fact, he actually wanted to introduce us months ago when he and I first met, but I told him not to. I'm sorry, Papyrus."  
           "I still don't understand."  
           "have a seat, bro. this could take a while to explain."  
           Papyrus sat down in front of Flowey and listened to his tale. It was hard to imagine the Underground a place of such a peaceful setting, but wanted to believe that it was. He tried to imagine Flowey from before he was a flower and had a bit of fun imagining him as various monsters, but decided that Flowey was now Flowey. Who he was before doesn't matter. At the end of the tale, they all sat in silence as Papyrus absorbed the information.  
           "So... it's a similar situation with you as it is with Sans?" Papyrus asked.  
           "Pretty much. I won't pretend to hate you or anything, but I won't be able to talk openly unless we are here. I can't come into your home, so this is the only place we can talk."  
           Papyrus smiled at Flowey. "Thank you for looking out for us like this, Flowey. You are a good friend."  
           Flowey blushed and shied into his petals a bit at the compliment. "Thank you." He said softly.  
            Papyrus decided that this monster didn't get near enough praise. "I mean it! You're really great! And so talented! How do you pop in and out of the ground like that? Is it magic?"  
           Flowey hid his face with his leaves, his petals closing around them so his face was almost completely hidden from view. The praise didn't stop there. Papyrus kept finding new ways of praising him until finally, Sans told them it was time for bed. Giggling, Papyrus said goodnight and rushed to his room to get ready for bed. Sans chuckled as he watched him on the monitors then turned to Flowey whose face was almost an entirely different colour.  
           "told you he'd like you," Sans chuckled, returning to his abandoned work. "better get used to this kind of treatment by the way. he won't stop."  
           All at once, the petals left Flowey's face as he shouted at Sans. "You never told me he would do _that_!"  
           Sans laughed, grabbing a spare sheet to double-check his equations. "you didn't ask," he teased. Flowey groaned. "don't worry, he's telling the truth. you are pretty great. for a flower."  
           Flowey puffed his cheeks and pouted at him. "And you're pretty snarky for a skeleton!"  
           Sans chuckled. "well, i certainly can't be my bro, now can i?"  
           "You could try."  
           "nah. the underground doesn't even deserve one of him. it couldn't handle two!"  
           Flowey chuckled. "Yeah, you're right. He's too good for this place. Well, I'm going to head back to the garden and get some sleep. It's getting a bit harder to blend in though. The King has stopped tending to the flowers, so they are all dying out."  
           Without looking away, Sans just answered him, "just sleep here. you know it's safe."  
           "R-really?"  
           "yeah," Sans laughed. "why not? at least until you find somewhere more comfortable."  
           Tears welled up in his eyes again. He really was a cry baby after all. "Thank you, Sans."  
           In the quiet lab, with only the sounds of scribbling and light breaths that Flowey wasn't sure was even needed, he fell asleep. Curled in on his stem so he was comfortable and found himself sleeping better than he ever had in the garden.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally, the last chapter was going to be a one-off, but after I posted it, so many different ideas came to mind that I just wanted to continue them!  
> Thank you so much to everyone that has left kudos and amazing comments! I wasn't expecting this to even get that much when I posted it so I'm really happy you all are loving it! It's not ending here though!! There will be more to come with some characters being introduced over time. Some favourites and an OC or two. Until next time!


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